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Pontiac Sunfire Starting and Stalling Problems

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Comments

  • buskebuske Member Posts: 5
    spark low on just one side is a coil pac being weak. Buy a used one or switch them around to check.
  • buskebuske Member Posts: 5
    I just repleced the injector "o" rings and put a fuel pressure regulator on. My car now idles at 800 and runs a whole lot better. I did this because of a gas smell inside the car. Gas smell gone too!
  • aelswickaelswick Member Posts: 2
    i have a 96 sunfire annnd idk if youve found the problem or not yet buuut mine was idling real rough and it got worse to the point where the car would shut off and it was caused by the egr valve it went out idk if thats of any help to yah but hope yah figure it out
  • aelswickaelswick Member Posts: 2
    welll ive been having issues with my car starting when its cold and i have a diganostic scan done and they said my plug wires were bad soo im guessin that could be the problem...on a 96 sunfire he said it would be really hard to get them replaced bc the coils behind the motor............any info or input on this?
  • mr_spider3mr_spider3 Member Posts: 1
    ok, i havent tried everything, but i need help. my brothers car ran great until just recently. the car cranks but it seems like its not getting spark. so i changed the spark plugs, still nothing. took the battery in, had it tested, tested good. had a buddy of mine tell me to take the fuel line off the intake manifold and check to see if fuel came out when the key was turned to accesories. it does. so its not the fuel pump. this happened after he got the oil changed, but it ran fine for a couple of days... and then nothing. im lost because after multiple attempts to start the car it will start and run fine, but as soon as you shut it off.... nothing happens. its not the fuel injectors either they were just replaced about 4 months ago and it ran perfectly fine after that. please any help would be appreciated. it is a 2.2l automatic sunfire
  • viperquickviperquick Member Posts: 6
    I'm going through this right now. I'll bet you've got a '99 with about 94000 miles. My guess is the starter or starter solenoid wants some attention. A buddy of mine suggested removing the starter assembly from the engine. Once you've got it on your bench, remove the solenoid from the starter (it's the small can if you didn't know). He says the large terminal on the solenoid can be removed. The other end of this terminal, inside the solenoid is square and, over time, can be eaten away by the electrical charge a little more each time you start the car. Rotate the terminal 180 degrees and reinstall it into the solenoid. Reinstall the solenoid, then the starter and, according to my buddy, you'll be starting like a champ for another 100000 miles. I will be doing this when I leave work. Good luck to you, let me know if it works.
  • opa_payaopa_paya Member Posts: 6
    I have a 2002 Sunfire and for a while my tacometer was going crazy while at idle or going slow, which resulted in a stalling problem. I got this problem fixed, then within a month my car began to stall again while going slow in traffic and coming to a stop. Now, along with going slow it is stalling going into turns ( left or right), I have only seen my oil and engiene light coming on when this occurs and my power steering goes as well. My cars starts right back up when this occurs. It is random and happens for days in a row or doesn't occur for days then happens. I have taken my car to the dealer and of course it doens't occur for them so no codes show on their computer. I have had my fuel filter changed and the injection line cleaned out, my battery is less then 1 1/2 years. Any suggestions????
  • viperquickviperquick Member Posts: 6
    opa paya, do you have an automatic or standard transmission?
  • opa_payaopa_paya Member Posts: 6
    It is an automatic
  • willjmcwilljmc Member Posts: 3
    i still need help ppl
  • viperquickviperquick Member Posts: 6
    I have not forgotten you. I am stumped by this problem. I've got a couple of possibilities, but I'm going to chat with a couple of my buds about it to see what they think. What displacement do you have 2.2L or 2.4L?
  • viperquickviperquick Member Posts: 6
    Have you checked your spark plugs? Disconnect your battery then remove the plugs, noting the appearance of the electrodes. My guess is you'll see at least one, probably 2 pretty nasty ones (black or broken or both!). Let me know what you find and we'll go from there.
  • opa_payaopa_paya Member Posts: 6
    It is a 2.2L ..

    Tell me about being stumped ! The mechanics at the dealership said " It's a mystery to us " and I have taken it there twice about this stalling issue. I know it's so hard to diagnosis since the stalling is so random. Like I said it happens when I am going slow or going into turns, it has only happened going less than 15 -20 mph. It has only happened once per day when it does occur. On one occassion it happened twice within less than a minute a part. I get no indication that it is going to happen. I just feel my wheel get tight, then I look down and see the engiene and oil light on, put it into neutral, and turn the ignition again. It always starts right back up luckily.
    I am keeping a log of when it occurs and what was going on at the time it happened. I am now keeping an eye to see if there is a relation to how much gas I have in my tank ( like if it's only occuring when it is below 1/2 tank Vs. a full tank) I have tried a to switch to 93 octance Vs. 87 and I see no difference, so I went back to the cheaper gas, since it is costly.

    If you need any more information ,, please ask. Thanks for taking the time to think about my prblem, it's greatly appreciated !
  • viperquickviperquick Member Posts: 6
    Ok. I mentioned this to one of my coworkers. The first thing he said was to run a bottle of Castle brand fuel injector cleaner through a full tank of gas. I know you said you had the fuel injector rail cleaned, but I would still try this. Even if the line is cleared, the injectors themselves can be clogged, or there could be another clog or deposit ahed of the injectors. I would also not trust that a shop who gives up on a problem like this. Let me know!
  • opa_payaopa_paya Member Posts: 6
    OK thanks so much for the advice,, I will try it out this weekend and let you know how it goes in a week or so. Thanks again !!
  • danielsparksdanielsparks Member Posts: 1
    This is clearly a hydraulic issue. Whenever braking or turning, your car is using some of the engine's power to apply hydraulic pressure to either the brakes or steering, respectively. This is how power steering and brakes works - the engine provides the energy to turn or stop the car instead of you. The engine is dying because the energy needed for these movements has become more than it has available at idle. It is just like popping the clutch on a standard - too much pressure on the engine makes it quit. This could be something very simple, such as a hydraulic line being clogged, or it could mean that your engine has lost some compression and can't put out the power that it used to. Start on the cheap end and see if that works first - try replacing the hydraulic lines first, or the hydraulic system components. If the engine is losing compression, its time to get a new car.
  • mypoorsunfiremypoorsunfire Member Posts: 2
    I could really use some help. My poor Sunfire is doing some really weird things lately.

    About a month ago, I was trying to find a parking spot when my car dropped below 500rpm, then stalled, with only the oil and battery lights coming on. I was able to start the car up again with no problems. The weather had recently become cold, so I put some gas line anti-freeze in my tank, and for a while, the problem went away.

    About a week after that, while I was driving, my car would not drop below 2000rpm. Even as I applied the brake, the car would not drop below 2000rpm, when it finally did, it then dropped below 500rpm, stalled out, and the oil and battery light came on. I started the car up again, and it ran fine, no problems. I used an OBDII reader to see what, if any, codes came up, but there was no problem codes.

    Two days ago, my city was hit by a cold snap that brought the temperature below -36 degrees Celsius, and my car did the same thing again. I put gas line anti-freeze in the tank again, and that seemed to help until today. On the way home from work, my car did the same thing, first it would not drop below 2000rpm, when it did, it would drop below 500rpm, stall, and the oil and battery light came on. This time I put some fuel injector cleaner in my tank.

    Now my car idles at 500rpm, and my instrument panel lights and heater seem to loose a small amount of power at 500rpm. Sometimes my car will jump up to 1000rpm by itself, then slowly go back to 500rpm, but now it doesn't stall.

    My car, up until that first problem, has never idled below 1000rpm. I have no idea what's going on, but I could really use some help.

    Thanks!
  • seventhlvlseventhlvl Member Posts: 2
    Can go wrong with a car. Especially these cars.

    Sometimes a "short" or "grounded out" wire is not actually the problem, when it could seem like it's obviously it. a poorly grounded negative can be just as bad, if not worse causing harm to alternators, batteries, ignitions, computers, basically everything. Here's what you can do.

    If you have any experience with electrical, and a voltage meter, then this could be easy. If you don't, then I'll try to explain it to you so you can explain it to someone else so they can say "wow that's easy."

    Since you have a new alternator and a new battery, this should help you find out EXACTLY what's wrong with it and you can save a LOT of money with costly "let's see if this works" type repairs.

    First off, take the voltometer, (not a test light, those are pointless at this point) and test the voltage of the battery with the engine off, between the two terminals. If it's above 11, you're fine. Wait an hour, then check the voltage again, if it has gone down say... more than half a volt, you've got a short circuit. if it hasn't changed more than a few hundreths of a volt, then so far so good.

    Start the vehicle, and leave it running for the duration of these tests.

    2. Test the voltage between the two battery terminals. If it's more than 13.8, you're ok, 14 and up is preferred. lower than 12 indicates a dead alternator, dead/dying battery, or a big electrical problem if those have been replaced already. If this is the case, bring your car to a parts store, most of them like Advance Auto and such will test these for free. If the voltage difference is below 13.5 it means you could have a bad ground or charging wire somewhere so we move on to step 3.

    (Keep engine running)
    3. Now comes the fun part, test between the alternator's positive terminal, the one separate red wire coming off of the alternator housing, and the positive terminal on the battery. If there's a difference of more than .1 volts there's a problem with that wire. It's the one that charges the battery, and a common culprit.

    4. Test between the frame (any unpainted bolt on the frame will do for this) and the negative battery terminal. Once again, a .1 volt difference is bad. This means that the negative battery terminal is not properly grounded to the frame.
    After that, test between the negative battery terminal and the engine block to test that wire. Just make sure it's an unpainted surface when testing.
    Lastly for the ground wires, test between the alternator housing and negative battery terminal. You're basically looking for a sharp increase in the voltage difference to indicate that the electricity isn't flowing between any of the grounded parts, the negative terminal, frame, engine, and alternator housing.

    I replaced my battery, and my alternator, and the garages said "everything seems fine" but THIS was how I found out that I had a bad ground wire which gave me an increase in everything electrical after I fixed it, and solved the problems.

    If it's not the wires, and you're getting 14+ volts between battery terminals, with less than the indicated differences in voltage, then the problem is not with your charging system, the electricity isn't getting to the spark plugs correctly. Ignition Coils on these go fairly quickly, but if you haven't replaced the spark plugs and wires yet, I'd go with that first, then get the ignition coil looked at if the problem persists.

    Hope this helped, I had 2 dealerships and a garage tell me "generic electrical problems" and one gave me a huge estimate, but I fixed the problem myself with a 7 dollar cable from a parts store. Turns out that the negative battery terminal is attached to the engine at the bottom of the engine, which rusts, corrodes, and a bunch of other bad stuff that makes it fail, causing problems with spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel injectors, computers (rarely), alternators, starters and batteries. If you're not having the same problem I did, then at least you know what it's not without having to "replace first, figure out problem later."
  • willjmcwilljmc Member Posts: 3
    it could be the coil opack i fixed that on my car she ran like new
  • opa_payaopa_paya Member Posts: 6
    Viperquick,,,,,
    So,,, I got a bottle of the fuel injector cleaner, put it into my almost empty tank, and filled up with gas on 1/26 . My car stalled 3 times with that tank of gas ( which I went through abnomally quickly, I figured that was because of adding the bottle of injector cleaner). Once I was almost empty a week later on 2/3 ,, I filled up again. NO STALLING with this tank of gas ... My last fill up was on 2/9 and it seems to be running very good. I haven't noticed anything so far and I am keeping my fingers crossed.
  • viperquickviperquick Member Posts: 6
    opa_paya,

    I'm very glad to hear all is well so far. Sometimes it's the smallest things that are the issues. I would suggest running a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through your tank around 6000 miles, or every other oil change. This will prevent any return of the build up. If you have further issues, look into the items "danielsparks" mentioned - Also good suggestions.
  • cavalier14cavalier14 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2002 Cavalier Z24 with just under 100,000 miles on it. I went out to move it last night, and it was misfiring on (at least) two cylinders. The engine was shaking pretty badly when I looked at it. It wants to stall anytime I'm not giving it gas. Also, when I go to pull out from a stop sign, it wants to stall. It seems that whenever i put a load on my engine, it wants to stall. For exaple, it stalled when I went to back into my driveway (which is on a VERY slight hill) as soon as i put it into reverse. My dad, who is a mechanic by trade, said I got water in/around the engine and it's grounding out the cylinders. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
  • lexieblexieb Member Posts: 6
    Hi. I have a 1997 Sunfire, 2.2L. I just had my spark plugs, wires, ignition coil replaced (along with my front brakes and rotors) early this month. It ran fine for 2 weeks (maybe a total of 150 miles, more or less), but today while I was driving home the engine lost power and died. I put my hazards on, went to the side of the road about 4 times, and then started the car just fine. Fortunately, I still made it home (about 3 miles from where the car initially stalled). When I've safely parked home, I turned the engine off for about a minute, then started it again, and just let it ran (idle) in park. About 2 mins idling, it died again.

    1. Could you please detail what possible problems, I might have (including price quotations if possible).

    2. I've recently read about Seafoam, would that even help me at this point?

    I'm a student and can no longer put money into this car. (I bought it last November, and 2 weeks after I had fuel leaking from the fuel injectors, which caused me some $580 to repair at a shop.) Should I even have it repaired this time? How much do you think I could get for it if I just sold it to the junk man?

    Thank you! :cry:
  • green0886green0886 Member Posts: 12
    No the fuel pump has nothing to do with your temp gauge(car over heating). The normal temp should be betwwen 195-220 degrees. Is the check enine light on if so go to Autozone and have them read the code (its free). If not check the antifreeze level in the overflow tank and radiator. If Autozone reads the code and it is a "lean mixture " then more than likley its the fuel pump but the car overheating is another issue.
  • cavalier14cavalier14 Member Posts: 4
    After pulling my car in the garage overnight to try and fix the problems i had earlier (refer to post #138), the stalling seemed to go away. I simply turned the heater to about 72 in the garage, took off the cover that hold the module, etc. on the top of the motor, and aimed a fan on certain areas. Let's hope this fixed the stalling. My new problem is, I went to start it up after i put it all back together and as my idle was coming down after starting it, my "Check Gauges" light came on and my fuel gauge slowly dropped to below E. I have a full tank of gas in the car, no doubt about it. My dad now thinks the ECM is beginning to die, as all these things are quite random and never happened before. Any help or advice from ANYONE would be appreciated greatly.
  • green0886green0886 Member Posts: 12
    How much fuel is in the tank if it is less than half I would say the fuel pump is going out (about $550 to replace parts and labor) because the fuel in the tank keeps the pump cool during normal operation. Normally a pump does not heat up much but under an abnormal load it will and as long as fuel is in the tank it will cool it self. The issue with running and quiting is the pump heating up and cooling off. I suggest if you have less than half a tank of fuel fill up and see if problem starts around half a tank or less.
  • green0886green0886 Member Posts: 12
    oh ya the junk price is about $200 a car so suck it up and fix it!!! ;)
  • lexieblexieb Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for your input!

    I have about half a tank of gas. So I guess, you may be right. I think it's really at the half point mark, if it dipped below that, it's just slightly below it.

    By the way, should I have noticed an incline in engine temperature in the dash, if my fuel pump is going bad? I kept looking at it while I was driving (when the car kept dying on me), and the gauge is just in the middle or a tad above the temperature monitor (whatever that is called).

    Any other ideas what my problem could be? I just want the car to run until graduation this semester or until I could sell it off for more than $200. That car has now cost me a little over $1,800. Tough luck. Thanks green0886!
  • lexieblexieb Member Posts: 6
    You're a psychic! ;)

    My check engine light has been on since I bought the car last November 2007. About 2 weeks after I bought the car, 2 of the fuel injectors started leaking. I had those replaced, my CEL was reset. One day after that, my CEL was back on.

    Anyway, on Jan. 4, 2008, I had Autozone read my OBDII codes...it was PO300. (That's what the shop that repaired my fuel injectors had, back in November 2007 too.)

    We tried to "odd man out" the problem with cheapest solutions first, hence the change of spark plugs, wires, and coil. The car ran well for exactly 19 days, and then stalled yesterday.

    The OBDII code of Jan. 4 says:
    P0300
    Definition: Cylinder misfire detected - Random cylinders
    Explanation: The powertrain control module monitors the crankshaft speed and has detected a misfire condition.
    Probable causes:

    1. Ignition system fault - spark plug(s), ignition wires, coil
    2. Vacuum leak
    3. Injector fault
    4. High or low fuel pressure.

    Also, since I bought the car in November, I noticed that the odometer wasn't working. It was only yesterday that I saw my odometer has moved. The trip meter has 49 miles and the odometer moved approx. 109 miles. I don't know when this happened. What could have made my odometer to work suddenly?

    (Purchase history: I never met the seller. It was a former student who left her car at a friend's to sell. I just talked to her over the phone. The CEL was on when I bought it. I took a gamble for $700. The car with repairs is now worth over $1,800. Hence my apprehension about more repairs. But I want to at least be able to use it until May and sell it off in running condition to recoup some of my money.)

    Last bit, when I have my heater or A/C on for a while, I get some stinky smell. Is that another set of problems all together? Or I just have to replace my air filter?

    Thanks for all your help green0886! :)
  • green0886green0886 Member Posts: 12
    If you get a "sweet" smell when the heater is on it is most likely antifreeze which means the heater core is leaking and could be why your car is overheating. When you check the antfreeze smell of it and see if that is the same smell you are smelling when you turn the heat on. If so bad news!! But the ac smell if it has not been used in a while will be a moldy smell nothing to worry about.And yes that code could be a fuel pump to.It could show the code because not enought fuel is being supplied to each cylinder causing a misfire.
  • lexieblexieb Member Posts: 6
    Thanks for your prompt replies. I'll try to bring the car to a mechanic within the week and see how much I'd need to repair the car's problems.

    I'll keep this board posted on whatever solution/s I'd find.

    Nonetheless, if any reader out there has other suggestions/comments, I would really appreciate it, just so I'd have an idea what kind of car repair fees I'm looking at. (Or junkman estimate.) :(
  • maggie29maggie29 Member Posts: 1
    On, this 02 Sunfire I have replaced the fuel pump, Battery & Cables. This car sometimes it starts other times it turns over but just don't start?
    This, happen to me about 2 Summers ago with this car but, I didn't ever really get anything done on it,cause then it would start and the problem only happened maybe three to four times but always started and I got home. Now, my Son has the car he starts it stop by to vist.Goes to leave the car don't start. :confuse: Take it to the shop (towed in). Then the car starts. What is wrong? I, found a recall on something that goes along with the fuel pump UPC(?) plug they forgot to put in the O'rings. But, my car's Vin # is not on the list. Could they have missed my Vin#? I, just would like some help cause this just isn't right. Cause, soon we will have new everything but the body? Hope someone can help us cause the shop guy has no iclue he said he has replaced the parts he though was wrong. It's been towed in 2 times in one month going to be towed agin on Monday? Pease, help. Thanks !
  • jfass_17jfass_17 Member Posts: 3
    Check the ignition coil. May have a short in it.
    I have a 96 that won't start sometimes right know and I was told to check that or the fuel pump. Will get at it in a couple of days.
  • 04redcarz04redcarz Member Posts: 1
    my 04 sunfire will not start and stalls out while driving. when u go to start it, it will do one of three things. it will make a weird noise, all the dash lights come on and the headlights flash or it wont make any noise and wont start or the seatbelt dinger will come on and thats when u know the car will turn over and run, but recently when u go to put it in gear, it will stall. then while driving down the round, the car will just cut out and u can coast to a stop, put it in park and start it up again. has anyone had this problem and know how to fix it? please help
  • cmoore05cmoore05 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire that has recently had a used motor put in ( 3 months ago) and 2 weeks ago had a heater core replaced. Just recently started shaking when it is first turned on. Will usually stop after being driven for a minute or two. Any suggestions about what it could possibly be? Have had numerous car issues recently and really can't afford anything else. Thanks in advance for any help.
  • jaxbuddyjaxbuddy Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire and last summer when stopping in traffic my car stalled. It started right up again than stalled whenever i had to come to a stop. It was fine all winter but last week it was warm and i was idling at a red light. When I went to accelerate it stalled. It did this 3 times on my way home everytime I had to stop. :(

    Could this be the fuel pump?

    Thanks so much
  • lexieblexieb Member Posts: 6
    Hi there, my car has a similar problem, but I haven't had the fuel pump changed. What I learned about the fuel pump though is not to have my fuel go below half a tank. Does your car also have a difficulty going uphill?

    Try to see if your car would have a hard time going uphill, and do take note of when your car stalls (whether at full tank, half a tank of gas, a quarter of gas). My car still runs and doesn't stall nowadays, but I make sure I always have a full tank or close to a full tank of gas. I also do not turn on the AC, as the car cannot take load and eventually stalls. My mechanic has replaced the car's module, plugs, wires, coils, sensor, and fuel filter. I think it needs an EGR valve and possibly a new fuel pump.

    Hope that helps. Anyway, if you've identified the real culprit for your car stalling, do share. Also include which parts you've changed to solve the stalling problem and how much it cost you.

    Thanks! :)
  • korardekorarde Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2000 Pontiac sunfire that the igntion broke and I removed the lock and tumbler and can get the car to turn over but it wont stay running and the theft system shuts the car down anyone know how I can by pass this system so I dont have to buy the whole new lock set up
  • speedy31315speedy31315 Member Posts: 1
    Folks,
    My 2001 Pontiac Sunfire has the identical symptoms. I have change the whole fuel and ignition systems. I've even exchanged the entire exhaust system. It ran good for two weeks. I just left it at the Wal-Mart parking lot knowing that nobody can possibly steal it. I agree with an earlier e-mail traffic stating that the Transmission Control Solenoid in the transaxle may be defective. I have worked with earlier Sunfires, Cavaliers and Celebritys that also have this device and it is a very unknown item even to the local mechanics (or I think so $$), however; it is never mentioned in commercial repair manuals or at dealers (they are mum $$). And these symptoms are indicative to all GM front wheel drive vehicles. The Transmission Control Solenoid activates at 45 mph (your overdrive), however; if stuck, it may fool the PCM it is going at that speed even though you are going 20 mph and cause the engine to become flooded by fuel, hence the stall and leaking fuel injector symptom and starting two hours later. Please, look at part number TCS1 at Autozone. I'm replacing mine tomorrow. It costs approximately $26.99. Commercial repair manuals do not mention this item (I wonder why?$$) Unbolt the the rear transmission pan (not the bottom pan) located on the driver's side of the transmission (approximately 10 bolts) and you will see the Transmission Control Solenoid smiling at you. For those of you that have felt the frustration and loss of money; General Motors, the secret is OUT!!!
  • hfv688hfv688 Member Posts: 1
    1999 sunfire 210,000 klms no problems then all of a sudden wont start runs about 2sec stalls wont start,Treid the passlock trick of leaving key on for 20 mins.nothing happens security light on but not flashing,pour gas down thottle body cars stars up and runs till fuel gone,can hear fuel pump working what else is there in this system that can shut off fuel. First time never happened before no warning,can the ign switch be shot.????????????????????? :mad:
  • mandykmandyk Member Posts: 2
    Hey there can anyone help me with this situation. I own a 1997 and I replaced the spark plugs on it, fuel filter, changed oil, ignition switch and a starter. And it still won't start. I hope someone understand what I'm talking about, but the theft system light won't go off and the little orange triangle above the gears on the dash well if it is not lit up the car won't start. What does anyone know about that? Please HELP!!! :cry: Me and my father also rented a diagnostic thing from auto zone and it read passed no codes need. Well then what is the problem!
  • salem3psalem3p Member Posts: 2
    I am so glad I discovered this site. My Husband/I were going nuts trying to find out why our 2000 Sunfire (Sunny) was stalling. We just spent $628.00 for Injector kit, BG throttle body service at a Pontiac dealer because we thought maybe they would have some idea since they work on them all the time. They also said our water pump was leaking so after quoting us ANOTHER price of $700.00 plus (we did it ourselves Saturday). We also have done a full tune-up with the works of spark plugs, wires, ect. Battery is fine. Alternator is fine. Fuel pump replaced 2 years ago. We are tottally stumped but are taking Sunny back to that dealer because they DID NOT fix the stalling. We refuse to pay for any more labor. They said they diagnosed it and that was the problem. I never got any recall notices either. GGGRR!!! We had no problems with Sunny until now. Its freaky that so many of us are having this stalling problem. Especially since it is all different years. My Husband/I have been baking in this Volcanic Texas Sun working on Sunny. Pontiac needs to look into this and why so many at this time? Very odd. :(
  • jaco0062jaco0062 Member Posts: 8
    Hi
    I live in ont canada. I have been a technician for about 5 years. I enjoy working with the electronic side of the auto. I have read many of the posts about sunfires and can't figure out why u guys can't get these problems delt with effiently. (Sry not verygood at spelling.) Mostly all of the problems found with sunfires are extremely common to all. If your techs are unable to locate these problems i sugest going somewhere else. For electronic problems i find that techs in there 20 to mid 30 are the best. Most old timers have no clue about modern technology. I have looked at about 200 sunfires for a no start condition and find 90% of the public neglect to change fuel filter. This causes undo stress on the fuel pump eventually it says goodnight.Rec fuel filter be changed once a year. When i bring a sunfire into my shop for a drivibility problem i can on average figure it out in under ten minutes. If u can find good qualified techs with good quality diagnostic tools they should also be able to do the same. If not come to my shop in canada.lol Ask your techs if they go on any courses, most good techs will go to them all, I know i do. You need to be constatly learning Hope that helps. ps u get what u pay for, if u don`t want to pay for the time to diagnose the car then what do u expect the tech to do.(sry just a little venting there.)
  • steve180steve180 Member Posts: 5
    can't get the emissions done because obd has no power, or we just can't get a reading. I replaced the cig fuse and still no luck. Is there another fuse for the obd port or does anybody know what it could be. Thanks
  • salem3psalem3p Member Posts: 2
    On my previous post I said that we also had tried many options to fix this stalling problem. We had even taken the car to a dealership garage. We spent $628.00 and it still stalled before the weekend so we took it back. They had it over a week and a half because they were swamped with other vehicles. (Only a few dealerships in a much growing town). We were mad and said we would pay for parts but no labor. Of course they would not go for that, gggrrr!!! but they did find the problem on our car. It was the ignition switch. They only charged us about a half hour labor even thou they said it took them an hour and a half. I couldn't argue because I have no idea how long it would take. I know it took my hubby/I about 5 hours to replace belts, hoses and a water pump so maybe it took them that long. LOL Anyhow, so far so good. *Knock on wood* LOL Sadly there may be several reasons for this stalling and we may all have to take each one of our cars individually until we hit on the one thing that gets each of our cars running again. For us it was the ignition switch. :):):) Yah! We got our Baby back.
  • scoop444scoop444 Member Posts: 2
    I drive a 2000 Pontiac, and after reading this I know I need to replace my fuel filter. I wanted to know if you could tell me where it is located on my model/year vehicle. Thanks a lot.

    :confuse:
  • green0886green0886 Member Posts: 12
    Look above the rear axle it should be there. Thats where it is on my 2003 sunfire. Very easy to change.
  • iceboundicebound Member Posts: 1
    GENERAL MOTORS Chevrolet Cavalier (1993-1999), Pontiac Sunbird (1993-1994), Pontiac Sunfire (1995-1999)
    • Recall covering 1992-1993 models with the 2.2L engine: unstable deceleration or stalling due to a defective lower intake manifold seam. Replace seam.

    http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?DocID=23
  • jeremyloisellejeremyloiselle Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 sunfire 2.2 It will run about 5 to 7 miles and then lose complete power, sometime stall and sometimes will stay running, when it comes to a stop, it starts right back up and goes another 5 miles. I have replaced the plugs, wires, and fuel filter and it is still doing it? Any suggestions?
  • green0886green0886 Member Posts: 12
    Sounds like the classic sign of fuel pump failure. More than likely you gas gauge is reading about 1/4 tank or less at the time the problem starts. I say this because the fuel cools the pump in the tank and when the pump is not functioning properly it will over heat more easily than at normal operation and case it to stop working as a safety feature. This is not a simple fix it will require you to drop the fuel tank to replace the pump. The pump for a good one will run you any where from $300 to $375 and labor will be about $200.
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